Indonesia Readies Terror Suspect Charges

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, February 27, 2003

Indonesian prosecutors are preparing treason charges against the suspected head of an Islamic group implicated in the Oct. 12 Bali bombings, an official said Friday.

Abu Bakar Bashir was arrested soon after the Bali attack that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Police say he is the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaida linked group accused of carrying out the bombings.

Officials say they have evidence linking him to the Bali plot, but first plan to charge him over a series of deadly church bombings in 2000.

On Friday, police said they have finished their investigation of the 64-year-old cleric and handed him over to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office. However, after a few hours at the building, Bashir was returned to police custody because of security considerations, officials said.

Chief Prosecutor Mulyohardjo said prosecutors were preparing their case against Bashir but declined to speculate when he would be charged. Under Indonesian law, prosecutors can hold a suspect for up to 90 days before trial.

"He will be charged with treason with a view to overthrowing the government," Mulyohardjo, who goes by a single name, told The Associated Press.

He said Bashir's alleged involvement in the church bombings would form the basis for the treason charge, which carries a maximum penalty of death. Bashir will not be prosecuted over a separate alleged plot to assassinate President Megawati Sukarnoputri plot because of a lack of evidence, he said.

At least 19 people were killed in the church attacks.

Police have arrested 29 people in connection with the Bali attack. The first trials are expected to begin within the next month. Several of those in custody have allegedly confessed to knowing Bashir and having ties to Jemaah Islamiyah.